Today, many manufacturers are using compressed packaging to reduce the overall size of their packages and thereby save money on shipping cost. Compressed packaging also allows more packages to be placed on a store's shelf since each package takes up less space. This is advantageous since more consumers will be able to find their desired products available on the store shelf. One drawback with compressed packaging is that it is sometimes difficult to remove the first few products from the compressed package. This fact is especially true for personal care products that are designed to absorb urine, menses, fecal matters, or other body fluids. Some examples of such personal care products include adult incontinence garments, infant diapers, training pants, feminine pads, sanitary napkins, pantyliners, etc. These products tend to utilize a non-slippery material, such as a non-woven, for the outer cover and such material has a rather high coefficient of friction value. In addition, many of these products have a rather large surface area that contacts adjacent products, which increases the frictional resistance between products. Furthermore, such products are normally arranged in one or more rows within the package, which means that each major surface of a product is compressed against a major surface of an adjacent product. When the opening to the package is present in the top wall, it requires the consumer to pull an individual product perpendicularly outward from the row and a rather large shear force usually has to be overcome in order to remove the first product.
For adult incontinent products in particular, the consumer is usually an older person who may have deteriorating dexterity and strength. Studies have indicated that many elderly people encounter difficulties in removing the first few adult incontinent products from a compressed package.
Now a dispensing aid has been invented which facilitates the individual removal of a product from a compressed package.